1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is for a submersible touch-operated signaler, and is an improvement to the submersible touch-operated signaler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,768 to Hunt.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various forms of submersible touch-operated signalers have been produced in the past. These may include signalers placed at the ends of swimming lanes in a pool, which are touched by swimmers to signal the completion of laps or a race. Generally, such signalers include a pair of spaced-apart contact elements which, when pressed into contact with each other, complete an electrical connection to produce a signal. In such devices, it may be desirable to provide resilient, nonconductive spacers between the conductive plates, which spacers must be forcibly compressed to produce contact between the members. Further, it is often desirable to provide some means for maintaining a level of fluid between the contact plates which is substantially equivalent to the level of fluid surrounding the signaler. With the fluid level between the plates substantially equivalent to the level of the fluid surrounding the plates, the effect of fluid pressure and wave action on the outside of the plates is minimized.
A difficulty with previously-designed signalers, has been that often the spacers used between the plates have impeded the flow of fluid into and out of the space between the plates. This can be a problem, especially when it is desired to remove the signaler from a body of fluid in which it is immersed. Explaining further, such signalers may be rather large, and if they do not drain rapidly, they are extremely heavy, unwieldy, and difficult to remove from a body of fluid, such as a swimming pool. In the prior art, drain openings were provided in a securing plate located along the lower edge margins of the spaced-apart contact plates. Often in assembling the signaler, the drain openings were not aligned with the small gaps between the spacers and as a result fluid flow was impeded or slowed to some extent. If complete drainage did not occur, then permanent damage could occur.
Another difficulty with prior art touch-operated signalers is corrosion of the plates causing intermittent, faulty or otherwise unsuitable electrical contact between the plates when manually depressed by a swimmer. It has been discovered that the main cause of such corrosion is the utilization of excessive operating voltage.